Dr. Jim Belcher Appointed President of Providence Christian College

Posted on: April 1st, 2014 |
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The Board of Trustees of Providence Christian College is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Jim Belcher to the office of President.

With his appointment as the 3rd president of Providence, Dr. Belcher brings to the office a great zeal for Liberal Arts Education coupled with an ideal wealth of visionary leadership in the Reformed and Evangelical communities as an author, educator, church planter, pastor, and entrepreneur.

Dr. Belcher is a graduate of Gordon College with a B.A. in political science. He went on to complete an M.A. at Fuller Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in political philosophy at Georgetown University.

Uniquely gifted as an accomplished writer to share this vision, Dr. Belcher is best known as the author of Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional, which won Christianity Today’s Best Book Award and Leadership Journal’s 2010 Golden Canon Award. Deep Church winsomely engages one of the most important ecclesiastical issues facing the evangelical world today, doing so without compromising the Reformed faith.

His most recent book, In Search of Deep Faith: A Pilgrimage into the Beauty, Goodness, and Heart of Christianity, has been praised by church leaders as “a Pilgrims Progress for the 21st century.” It received top recognition as Christianity Today’s “Best of the Best” book for its 2013 Leadership Journal awards.

The appointment of Dr. Belcher follows an extensive yearlong nationwide presidential search that was intensified with the goal of appointing the ideal individual to take office by summer of 2014. Dr. Belcher’s Reformed outlook, ministerial experience, and understanding of the importance of the liberal arts makes him particularly equipped to help young Christian students address the challenges—global challenges—presented in the southern California region. Providence’s board chairman Pete Nanninga expressed confidence that Belcher “will enrich the Providence mission to prepare students who are biblically grounded to be fully engaged Christian citizens in their churches and communities for the glory of God.”

The news of the appointment was announced on Saturday evening, February 22nd, 2014 at the annual Providence Southern California banquet for supporters. The news was received with gratitude and enthusiasm.

Dr. Belcher and his wife Michelle, along with their four children, Jordan, Jonathan, Lindsay, and Meghan currently reside in Ft. Lauderdale, FL where Dr. Belcher serves as an associate professor of practical theology at Knox Theological Seminary. Previously Dr. Belcher served as church planter and then pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, CA, and on the staff of Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena.

With this appointment, Dr. Belcher and his family are expected to relocate to the Pasadena area, in the coming months, where Dr. Belcher will assume his official duties later this summer. This move presents a homecoming of sorts, as the family looks forward to returning to their Pasadena, and Southern California roots.